THE highlight of the bowls calendar – the WBT world indoor championships, staged, as ever, at Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk – seems to get earlier every year, and, as if to prove the point, the first bowl of this year’s event was rolled yesterday.

Guernsey’s world-ranked Alison Merrien (pictured) has two chances of glory – having been invited to play in the women’s matchplay singles and the mixed pairs this year – but she will have to wait until Saturday 17 January to get her bid under way.

Curiously, her first matches in both events are scheduled for the same day when she takes on America’s Lorraine Hitchcock in the singles and lines up with the Scots-born England captain Andy Thomson in the mixed pairs.

‘I’m playing someone different from the USA. It will be totally different and we’ll see how the game pans out,’ Merrien said.

‘You’ve got to feel confident going into the championship and take it game for game and see how far you get.’